scholarly journals Psychosocial functioning in adolescents growing up with chronic disease: The Dutch HBSC study

Author(s):  
Emma E. Berkelbach van der Sprenkel ◽  
Sanne L. Nijhof ◽  
Geertje W. Dalmeijer ◽  
N. Charlotte Onland-Moret ◽  
Simone A. de Roos ◽  
...  

AbstractMany adolescents worldwide (indirectly) grow up with a chronic disease, which may impact their functioning and wellbeing. The objective of this study is to assess whether adolescents with a (family member with a) chronic disease differ from their healthy counterparts in terms of psychosocial functioning. Data from the Dutch 2013 HBSC-survey were used, including 7168 adolescents (Meanage = 13.7, SD = 1.57, 50.5% female). Participants indicated whether they or one of their family members had a long-term (> 3 months) disease or disability (mental/physical) and were categorized into four groups based on disease presence (none, other, self, both). Psychosocial functioning was assessed in terms of life satisfaction, self-rated health, psychosomatic health, mental health problems, support, substance use, physical exercise, screen time, and school liking. Chronically diseased adolescents (n = 162) reported lower life satisfaction, self-rated and psychosomatic health, more mental health problems, lower peer support, more substance use, and less physical exercise compared to healthy peers. Chronically diseased adolescents who also had a family member with a chronic disease (n = 74) showed comparable outcomes on these life domains, although they did not differ from their healthy peers regarding peer support, substance use, and physical activity. Healthy adolescents with a chronically diseased family member (n = 737) reported significantly lower life satisfaction, self-rated and psychosomatic health, more mental health problems, and less family support compared to healthy peers who grew up in healthy families; however, they reported more positive outcomes than adolescents who had a chronic disease themselves.Conclusion: Having a (family member with a) chronic disease is associated with impaired psychosocial functioning on various life domains. Our findings aid in understanding the psychosocial associates of chronic disease and imply that caregivers should be observant of psychosocial problems among vulnerable adolescents to provide appropriate guidance. What is Known:• Adolescents who grow up with a (family member with a) chronic disease encounter numerous challenges that may be related to poorer developmental outcomes on the long term. What is New:• This study adds a comprehensive overview of the psychosocial functioning of adolescents with a (family member with a) chronic disease, as compared to healthy counterparts that grow up in a healthy family.

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 242-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Éva Kállay

Abstract. The last several decades have witnessed a substantial increase in the number of individuals suffering from both diagnosable and subsyndromal mental health problems. Consequently, the development of cost-effective treatment methods, accessible to large populations suffering from different forms of mental health problems, became imperative. A very promising intervention is the method of expressive writing (EW), which may be used in both clinically diagnosable cases and subthreshold symptomatology. This method, in which people express their feelings and thoughts related to stressful situations in writing, has been found to improve participants’ long-term psychological, physiological, behavioral, and social functioning. Based on a thorough analysis and synthesis of the published literature (also including most recent meta-analyses), the present paper presents the expressive writing method, its short- and long-term, intra-and interpersonal effects, different situations and conditions in which it has been proven to be effective, the most important mechanisms implied in the process of recovery, advantages, disadvantages, and possible pitfalls of the method, as well as variants of the original technique and future research directions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110175
Author(s):  
Roberto Rusca ◽  
Ike-Foster Onwuchekwa ◽  
Catherine Kinane ◽  
Douglas MacInnes

Background: Relationships are vital to recovery however, there is uncertainty whether users have different types of social networks in different mental health settings and how these networks may impact on users’ wellbeing. Aims: To compare the social networks of people with long-term mental illness in the community with those of people in a general adult in-patient unit. Method: A sample of general adult in-patients with enduring mental health problems, aged between 18 and 65, was compared with a similar sample attending a general adult psychiatric clinic. A cross-sectional survey collected demographic data and information about participants’ social networks. Participants also completed the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale to examine well-being and the Significant Others Scale to explore their social network support. Results: The study recruited 53 participants (25 living in the community and 28 current in-patients) with 339 named as important members of their social networks. Both groups recorded low numbers in their social networks though the community sample had a significantly greater number of social contacts (7.4 vs. 5.4), more monthly contacts with members of their network and significantly higher levels of social media use. The in-patient group reported greater levels of emotional and practical support from their network. Conclusions: People with serious and enduring mental health problems living in the community had a significantly greater number of people in their social network than those who were in-patients while the in-patient group reported greater levels of emotional and practical support from their network. Recommendations for future work have been made.


2015 ◽  
Vol 202 (10) ◽  
pp. 537-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra J Rickwood ◽  
Kelly R Mazzer ◽  
Nic R Telford ◽  
Alexandra G Parker ◽  
Chris J Tanti ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 835-846
Author(s):  
Julie H. Levison ◽  
Margarita Alegría ◽  
Ye Wang ◽  
Sheri L. Markle ◽  
Larmiar Fuentes ◽  
...  

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0260050
Author(s):  
Andrea Schaller ◽  
Teresa Klas ◽  
Madeleine Gernert ◽  
Kathrin Steinbeißer

Background Working in the nursing sector is accompanied by great physical and mental health burdens. Consequently, it is necessary to develop target-oriented, sustainable profession-specific support and health promotion measures for nurses. Objectives The present review aims to give an overview of existing major health problems and violence experiences of nurses in different settings (acute care hospitals, long-term care facilities, and home-based long-term care) in Germany. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed and PubPsych and completed by a manual search upon included studies’ references and health insurance reports. Articles were included if they had been published after 2010 and provided data on health problems or violence experiences of nurses in at least one care setting. Results A total of 29 studies providing data on nurses health problems and/or violence experience were included. Of these, five studies allowed for direct comparison of nurses in the settings. In addition, 14 studies provided data on nursing working in acute care hospitals, ten on nurses working in long-term care facilities, and four studies on home-based long-term care. The studies either conducted a setting-specific approach or provided subgroup data from setting-unspecific studies. The remaining studies did not allow setting-related differentiation of the results. The available results indicate that mental health problems are the highest for nurses in acute care hospitals. Regarding violence experience, nurses working in long-term care facilities appear to be most frequently affected. Conclusion The state of research on setting-specific differences of nurses’ health problems and violence experiences is insufficient. Setting-specific data are necessesary to develop target-group specific and feasible interventions to support the nurses’ health and prevention of violence, as well as dealing with violence experiences of nurses.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gökmen Arslan ◽  
Murat Yıldırım ◽  
Mega M. Leung

Research Problem: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a multi-faceted crisis worldwide. Researchers and health authorities in various parts of the world echoed the dire condition of the public's mental health. This study sought to examine the mediating effect of personal meaning on the association between coronavirus (COVID-19)-related suffering, mental health problems, and life satisfaction. Participants included 231 adults (mean age = 46.65 ± 13.98; 68% female) and completed measures of suffering related to COVID-19, meaning, life satisfaction, and mental health problems online.Results: Findings from mediation analysis showed that suffering had significant associations with personal meaning, mental health, and well-being. Furthermore, personal meaning was significantly associated with adults' mental health and well-being and mediated the negative effect of suffering on mental health and well-being.Discussion: Overall, results from this study indicate that personal meaning is an important promotive factor that may help to understand the negative effect of coronavirus-related suffering on mental health and well-being amid the public health crisis.


Author(s):  
Jo Moriarty

Social care is the broad term for the support provided to people living at home and in care homes. Major changes have taken place to this sector in the past few years and this chapter describes the key policy developments that have impacted upon the kind of support provided to older people with mental health problems and how that support is funded. The policy of personalization is intended to increase choice and control, but as yet it is unclear whether this will lead to improved outcomes in terms of quality of life or independence. Some long-standing issues, such as the high prevalence of people with unidentified mental health problems in long-term care, continue to provide challenges for organizations providing social care support.


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